What year does my UK
car registration represent?

When was my UK Car Registration
Number first issued?

When UK registration marks were first issued they were made up of one letter followed by one number. The very first being 'A1' that was issued in 1903 by London Council.

The demand for new registration numbers steadily grew and the limited supply of the 2-digit number plates soon became exhausted. Later formats comprised of two letters and four numbers, with each issuing area of the UK given its own identifying two letters. However, in some areas by the mid 1930s, this series of registration marks also became exhausted so a new three letter/three number system was introduced.

For example Hampshire Council issued 'AAA 1' in 1934. This series worked well, and in the case of Hampshire, once they had reached 'AAA 999' they then started the 'BAA' series in 1936. This continued until the mid 1950s when registrations were reversed to three numbers followed by three letters.

These highly desirable registration marks are not associated with any particular year and they are referred to as succinct number plates. They are much rarer than modern registrations due to the simple fact that they were issued many years ago and few were transferred to newer cars.

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UK Car Registrations

'Suffix' issue dates:

'Prefix' issue dates:

FROM:

TO:

FROM:

TO:

A

01/02/63

31/12/63

A

01/08/83

31/07/84

B

01/01/64

31/12/64

B

01/08/84

31/07/85

C

01/01/65

31/12/65

C

01/08/85

31/07/86

D

01/01/66

31/12/66

D

01/08/86

31/07/87

E

01/01/67

31/07/67

E

01/08/87

31/07/88

F

01/08/67

31/07/68

F

01/08/88

31/07/89

G

01/08/68

31/07/69

G

01/08/89

31/07/90

H

01/08/69

31/07/70

H

01/08/90

31/07/91

J

01/08/70

31/07/71

J

01/08/91

31/07/92

K

01/08/71

31/07/72

K

01/08/92

31/07/93

L

01/08/72

31/07/73

L

01/08/93

31/07/94

M

01/08/73

31/07/74

M

01/08/94

31/07/95

N

01/08/74

31/07/75

N

01/08/95

31/07/96

P

01/08/75

31/07/76

P

01/08/96

31/07/97

R

01/08/76

31/07/77

R

01/08/97

31/07/98

S

01/08/77

31/07/78

S

01/08/98

28/02/99

T

01/08/78

31/07/79

T

01/03/99

31/07/99

V

01/08/79

31/07/80

V

01/08/99

28/02/00

W

01/08/80

31/07/81

W

01/03/00

31/07/00

X

01/08/81

31/07/82

X

01/08/00

28/02/01

Y

01/08/82

31/07/83

-

-

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What are 'Suffix' & 'Prefix'
Registration Marks?

Suffix registrations were introduced in 1963 when number plates were made up of three letters, three numbers and a letter at the end to represent the year of issue. The registration year originally ran from January 1st (to December 31st) until it was moved to the 1st of August in 1967.

In 1983 the suffix format of registration marks ended and the UK changed over to the prefix series, which meant the letter representing the year of issue appeared at the beginning of the registration number. The suffix and prefix series meant that when displayed on a vehicle, the age of that vehicle could easily be established.

The letters I, O and Z were not used as a suffix or prefix as they closely resembled the numbers one, zero and two. The letter Q was introduced as a prefix in 1983 and issued to vehicles of indeterminable age.

In 1999 prefix letters changed to twice a year in March and September (rather than on August 1st) in anticipation of the new series of 'seven-character' registration marks that began in September 2001. See our at-a-glance table opposite which is a handy guide to find the year each letter represents.

How are current 7-character
number plate registrations made up?
& what do the registration
numbers and letters mean?

The current registration series displays seven characters in 3 parts, each with a separate meaning, namely: The local memory tag, the age identifier and finally the unique identity.

  • The first two characters indicate where the vehicle was registered - this is called 'the local memory tag'. The first letter refers to a region of the UK, the second letter represents the local DVLA office.
  • The two numbers show the age of the vehicle - this is called 'the age identifier'. Age identifiers will continue to change twice yearly in March and September until September 2049. See the table below for further details.
  • The last three letters are 'random letters' and give a vehicle its unique identity.
Year March Sept Year March Sept Year March Sept Year March Sept Year March Sept
2001   51 2011 11 61 2021 21 71 2031 31 81 2041 41 91
2002 02 52 2012 12 62 2022 22 72 2032 32 82 2042 42 92
2003 03 53 2013 13 63 2023 23 73 2033 33 83 2043 43 93
2004 04 54 2014 14 64 2024 24 74 2034 34 84 2044 44 94
2005 05 55 2015 15 65 2025 25 75 2035 35 85 2045 45 95
2006 06 56 2015 16 66 2026 26 76 2036 36 86 2046 46 96
2007 07 57 2017 17 67 2027 27 77 2037 37 87 2047 47 97
2008 08 58 2018 18 68 2028 28 78 2038 38 88 2048 48 98
2009 09 59 2019 19 69 2029 29 79 2039 39 89 2049 49 99
2010 10 60 2020 20 70 2030 30 80 2040 40 90 2050    

Email me today at admin@exclusivenumberplates.com to ask me anything about my
private registration numbers for sale, or call me direct on 01527 457614.

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